Gas and electric grills are often provided with control knobs that allow the user to choose between high and low settings in terms of power or heat. The resulting temperature of the grill surface although impacted by the knob settings is not readily predictable because environmental conditions will impact various heat transfer rates. For example, if the outside temperature is 50 degrees or 90 degrees, the rate of heat loss by the grill will change. In addition, if the grill lid is open or shut, the knob settings will need to be adjusted to maintain the same grill surface temperature.
However, the actual temperature of the grilling surface is not what usually drives the control settings. Rather, the grill lid will oftentimes have a temperature gauge to measure the air temperature inside the grill. Although it may be useful in certain scenarios to know the air temperature inside the grill, it is nearly impossible for the user to reliably predict the temperature of the grilling surface. In addition, the readings of the air temperature gauge are not used to control the knobs using automatic controllers. Rather, the user must set the knobs and wait to see where the air temperature lands, rather than being able to set the desired temperature and have a controller which adjusts the power/gas output.